The third volume of the Borodin Quartet's long-awaited digital set of Beethoven's cycle presents one bold work from the end of the middle period, the String Quartet in F minor, Op. 95; the deeply moving late masterpiece, the String Quartet in C sharp minor, Op. 131; and the sui generis Grosse Fuge in B flat major, Op. 133, which is treated here as a quartet in its own right.

Dvorák's early Quintet is here taken a little too seriously at times, but Richter and the Borodins revel in the riches of its glorious successor. Recorded live in clear but thin digital sound.

The later Mikhail Kopelman-led Borodin Quartet recordings of the complete string quartets of Shostakovich aren't so much better than the earlier Valentin Berlinsky-led Borodin Quartet's recordings as they have more than the earlier recording. For one thing, there are two more quartets; the earlier cycle stops with 13 because Shostakovich hadn't gotten any further yet. For another thing, the playing is more emotional; the earlier cycle is violently expressive, but the later cycle has more humanity.

Still at it and still pretty good at it even if not as good at it as it used to be, the Borodin Quartet continues to record with only cellist Valentin Berlinsky still on hand from the Borodin Quartet of the '60s. With a powerful attack and an expressive tone, the new Borodin Quartet is a fine ensemble. But although the attack is powerful, it's not the old Borodin's attack. The angle of attack is different, the point is different, the moment is different.

The wisdom of experience and the infirmities of age lie perhaps too heavy on the Borodin Quartet's set of Beethoven's early quartets. There is no denying that the Borodin know exactly what to do with the music. Their balances are exemplary, their tempos are ideal, and their phrasing is supremely expressive. And there is no denying that the Borodin love deeply every note of the music.

A slightly curious compilation (two Russian performances dating from 1962, one English from 1976) but an attractive one, and very good value. I had not heard the Gabrieli's Tchaikovsky before, and liked it a great deal: properly chamber-scale, in colour as well as tone of voice, and nice underlining of the lyricism in even Tchaikovsky's most exuberant pages.

Established in Moscow in 1945, and still performing today, the Borodin Quartet sustains a distinctive tradition in the interpretation of Russian chamber music. Over the decades its members – all trained at the Moscow Conservatory – have inevitably changed, but the ensemble’s identity has remained cohesive, its philosophy and aesthetic embodying an entire musical culture. The quartet’s close association with Dmitri Shostakovich has gone down in history, and his chamber works are central to this 8CD collection which, offering music by a succession of Russian composers from Borodin himself to Schnittke, spans the 19th and 20th centuries.

Founded at the Moscow Conservatory in 1945 by violist (and later conductor) Rudolf Barshai, the Borodin Quartet survived defections and other personnel changes to become regarded as the leading Soviet (and then Russian) quartet of the second half of the twentieth century. Through Barshai, the student group became closely associated with Dmitry Shostakovich, and its later recordings and concerts of that composer's complete quartets are widely regarded as definitive.

This set of Beethoven string quartets by the Borodin Quartet reflects a mature perspective on the works. It's not that it lacks energy the Vivaces are vivacious and the Allegros have plenty of brio but it has wisdom and a maturity not generally characteristic of performances by younger quartets. These performances are comparable with the Budapest Quartet's last set of the quartets.